On Oct. 2, Microsoft will try to steal the spotlight from Apple and Amazon, and the zillion products they collectively announced in September — and get ahead of whatever Google has planned for its upcoming event on Oct. 9 (hint: it’s the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL). According to the latest industry rumors, Microsoft intends to use its October event to show off the next version of its Surface portfolio, which could include new or updated hardware, software and services. But given the breadth of Microsoft’s business, the unpredictability of the Surface line and the fact that Microsoft hasn’t announced anything officially, we still don’t know exactly what we’re in for. Watch: How to watch this fall’s biggest tech announcements Microsoft has an uneven track record when it comes to the Surface line, varying between periods of radical experimentation (e.g., the original Surface Pro, the Surface Studio PC) and modest, incremental upgrades (e.g., the 2017 Surface Pro). The company has often said it uses the Surface portfolio to explore new product categories, rather than stoke competition with partners like Acer and Lenovo in existing categories. But that doesn’t always bear out in practice (Exhibit A: the Surface Laptop — a very fine though wholly undifferentiated 13-inch laptop). Still, there are several 2017-era products in the lineup, including the Surface Laptop and Surface Pro, that are due for an update. And then there’s also a handful of mysterious code-named Microsoft products — like the rumored dual-screen Andromeda device — that… [Read full story]